Meet Stefano Moretti

1st form: Poor immigrant who has just arrived in the Northeastern U.S. from Italy. Has no job and speaks no english as they have just arrived in the country. Racial discrimination has made it challenging for this character to find work in their first days in America. The first iteration of this character is short and hunched over, from carrying all their possessions on their back. They are also skinny and frail from being poor and not having enough money to sustain themselves. In addition to all these traits, this character also carries a strong odor, resulting from a lack of access to bathroom facilities.

2nd form: Having lived in the U.S. for some time now, Stefano is a factory worker living in tenement housing in the Northeastern U.S.. With the advent of settlement houses Stefano has adopted aspects of American culture that were absent in his previous iteration. Some of these include speaking english and practicing Christianity. He was nearly forced to “Americanize” himself and his family due to racial discrimination and nativist sentiments held by many working class Americans during this time. Stefano now stands significantly taller and is much cleaner now that he has his own housing. He is also much stronger than his previous iteration now that he is performing manual labor all day.

3rd form: Following the ban of alcoholic beverages in 1920, former legitimate businesses began to run illegal side businesses that sold alcohol to customers. These fronts or “speakeasies” were controlled by enormous criminal enterprises such as the Italian Mafia. Seeing the potential money to be made in this industry, Stefano left behind his factory job and turned to a life of crime. Stefano now wears expensive suits that were commonplace amongst gangsters of the time. He has also put on a fair amount of weight, as he has stopped working at his labor intensive job.